13 January 2008

Ahh to be a Startup in this crazy Web 2.0+ world..

I've been in a few startups, I owe my house to one successful streak and so when I spend time with folks in today's "Startup" way of life I can't but help get itchy feet at times.

I have no real intentions of leaving Microsoft any time soon, and yet the more I see some of the roadmap's ahead around our products or future approach, I can't but help see gaps. Gaps that could be filled with the right business idea or focus. I at times shop around internally to any who want these ideas and I ask for nothing in return, other than to simply see these gaps being filled.

I say this out loud as when you listen to a CEO of a startup talk about their product, they do so with passion and excitement. They also have determination and they firmly believe they are on the right path. Money can be a driver, but mostly it's about passion and a belief that with the right amount of capital, they could blow Facebook, YouTube or whatever brand they are using as a benchmark; out of the water.

You know what, with technology the way it is today and how fast good ideas spread, these folks may just do that.

money I have no doubt that the day I do decide to leave Microsoft, I'll be doing it to jump into the startup craze once again and try my hand one more time at building a great idea. Only this time, I'm sure there are more resources available, as in 1998-2000 it was bleeding edge - literally (I was working on my first RIA product until 3am, the morning of my wedding day - low point)

I'm glad Microsoft has a program for start-ups, as it's hard enough to make it in this harsh landscape we call the Internet and any help that can be thrown their way has got to be a good investment in our future.

http://www.microsoftstartupzone.com/

Now look to our competitors and compare, see we as a company aren't that bad if you give us a chance ;)

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# Anonymous said:

I worked for a manager / CTO who was an ex-Microsoftie, as well as one other PM from MS.

Though I've never seen it from the inside, I got a very bad vibe from what the Microsoft culture must be like, from speaking to these gents and knowing their personalities.

Passion + working on your own killer idea for 40 (or 80) hours a week = Success (or can)

Working 80 hours a week because that's the company culture != Success

Microsoft should jump on the 20% time bandwagon (a la Google), if it doesn't already have something like that... let coders go commando, work more offsite in small teams, etc. and just get back that Startup vibe.

13 January 08 at 5:09 PM
# Sean Murphy said:

Sounds like you have a lot of good ideas. Why not make a list, sort them, and post the "bottom half" in your blog to solicit feedback. That way you are keeping your best ideas but getting feedback on your thinking process.

My quick reaction to your suggestion of gaps in Microsoft's product offerings. Most large companies have gaps in their offerings that require two divisions or business units to collaborate but offer few incentives for collaboration. This means it may be difficult to create a constituency for an acquisition to cover the gap: the same lack of incentives also inhibit fixing the problem either directly or through acquisition.

13 January 08 at 8:15 PM
# Leslie said:

Feel free to forward those gaps in the MSFT product roadmap over to me ;-)

19 January 08 at 4:03 AM

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About scbarnes

Scott Barnes currently is a Rich Platform Product Manager (WPF & Silverlight). He has been working with Adobe/Macromedia technology for the past 10 years with a main focus specifically on Internet Applications (aka. RIA, Rich Client Technology etc).

Scott first started out as a graphic designer in the late 90’s and over the years developed a passion for programmatic art (Designer + Developer mind). He recently has branched out further into 3D modelling and animation making full use of both his designer + developer mindset.

"..The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man..." - George Bernard Shaw
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